Uniqlo's parent company files lawsuit against Shein over plagiarised shoulder bag

Fast Retailing, the parent company of Uniqlo, is filing a lawsuit against fast fashion giant Shein. The Chinese e-tailer allegedly copied Uniqlo's popular shoulder bag. Fast Retailing is demanding immediate cessation of sales of the imitated product and compensation for damages suffered by the company.

Fast Retailing filed the complaint on 28 December 2023, the company announced on its website today. Shein allegedly sold a shoulder bag very similar to Uniqlo's. This significantly erodes customers' confidence in the quality of the Uniqlo brand and its products, Fast Retailing claimed.

Uniqlo's shoulder bag appeared in the Lyst Index in 2023, making it the cheapest product ever to appear in the platform's 'Year in Fashion' review. The genderless half-moon bag is the best-selling bag ever and is available for around 15 euros. How did the bag become so popular? Not through influencers, but through old, familiar word-of-mouth advertising.